Wednesday, February 8, 2017

In these dark times, we turn to our holy men for
guidance, for answers. And Reverend Peyton delivers the good word, and this
time does it not from on high, but from the front porch. Perhaps his porch,
perhaps yours. Yes, his new album, Front
Porch Sessions, as its title promises, has the feel of happening spontaneously on a
porch. But a porch pumped full of energy – electrical, spiritual, comforting,
dangerous and delightful, an energy that will draw you to the place just as
surely as you need air and water. Come on home, and sing along, or stomp your
feet on the deck. The Reverend is calling all his children to him.

The new sermon begins with “We Deserve A Happy Ending,”
and do we ever need one. Because the news coming in
is all absurd and awful, and the humor is being drained from it as it drags on.
“Even when we’re losing, it feels like we
are winning/We deserve a happy ending.” This tune, like approximately half
the tracks, is an original, written by Reverend Peyton. It’s followed by an
excellent, passionate cover of “When My Baby Left Me,” written by Furry Lewis. Ah,
Reverend Peyton belts out the blues like a shout for help. Then snap your
fingers to “Shakey Shirley.” “Shirley
shake, Shirley shake all the time.”

Some delicious guitar work begins “What You Did To The
Boy Ain’t Right,” which, yes, is one of my favorite song titles so far this
year. The message to the song is simple, “I
got something to say/I don’t want to fight/But what you did to the boy ain’t
right,” but the guitar seems to have a whole lot more to say, and speaks
eloquently and forcefully. And then in “One Bad Shoe,” Reverend Peyton sings, “It feels like I’m spinning/Out of
control/Head’s got the shakes/I need some brakes.” But the tune has such a
steady, controlled rhythm that I don’t think he’s going to be able to save
himself. It’s like something else is at the wheel, and one’s doom is determined
by whatever that is, perhaps was determined long ago, before the song was
started, before the car was started, and all you can do is sing about it as you
go. It’s a feeling I believe a lot of us are in touch with.

“It’s All Night Long” is a wild, loose instrumental
number. That’s followed by “One More Thing,” an oddly happy-sounding folk song
about being at the edge of disaster. Hey, that’s something we can all relate to
these days, eh? “If the septic goes
bad/If the transmission goes out/Just one more thing and we lose our house/One
more thing/And we lose everything.” Ah, maybe it’s being resigned when
every damn thing is out of our control, and we watch disaster rolling our way.
Which one more thing is it going to be? That sometimes seems to be the
question. Fucking hell. But what a great song, one of my favorites. And it’s
followed by the album’s other instrumental tune, “Flying Squirrels,” a cool
guitar tune, like taking a traditional folk tune, adding electricity and making
those spirits dance until they’re exhausted. Ah, they’ll be up all night, just
you watch. And if you stop watching, if you turn your back, they’ll be at your
icebox, they’ll be poking through your drawers, even as they continue the dance.

Reverend Peyton’s rendition of Blind Willie Johnson’s “Let
Your Light Shine On Me,” here titled simply “Let Your Light Shine,” has a sort
of “Amazing Grace” vibe at the start, during the instrumental intro. This is a
perfect song for Reverend Peyton to cover, for it has a religious feel to it,
but is also kind of quirky. After all, it’s a different sort of light that
comes shining, isn’t it? “Let your light
from the lighthouse shine on me.” And,
man, I can feel that thump in my chest. This is a really good version. The Reverend
Peyton’s Big Damn Band then ends the album with a couple of traditional tunes, “When
You Lose Your Money” and “Cornbread And Butterbeans.” “When You Lose Your Money”
is also known as “Billy Lyons And Stack O’Lee”(Furry Lewis did it under that title) and “Stackalee” (Dave Van Ronk
recorded it under this title), as well as other variations. It’s a story that
everyone who listens to music knows pretty well (the Grateful Dead recorded
their own version as “Stagger Lee”), and The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band
does a very good job with it. “When you
lose your money, learn to lose.” And then, oh man, has there ever been a
cooler rendition of “Cornbread And Butterbeans”? “Cornbread and butterbeans and you across the table/Eatin’ beans and
makin’ love as long as I am able.” Perfect.

CD Track List

We Deserve A Happy Ending

When My Baby Left Me

Shakey Shirley

What You Did To The Boy Ain’t Right

One Bad Shoe

It’s All Night Long

One More Thing

Flying Squirrels

Let Your Light Shine

When You Lose Your Money

Cornbread And Butterbeans

Front Porch
Sessions is scheduled to be released on March 10, 2017 through Thirty
Tigers and Family Owned Records.

About Me (And About These Blogs)

I started the music blog to let people know about all the good music that is out there. I only review CDs that I like. (This is partly selfish, as I don't want to listen to music I dislike.) Good Things About Bad Movies is about finding something good even in the worst films.
I created an index, with a list of all of my blog entries, including Shakespeare entries and music reviews, arranged alphabetically by subject. Here is the link: http://michaeldohertyindex.blogspot.com/
My friend Jason and I have a web series, "Grandmother Winsome's Variety Minute," and several episodes are up on You Tube, and also on the Grandmother's Fanny Game blog. What else? I am fascinated by the Marquis De Sade and Elizabeth Bathory. I often make decisions based on the humor factor.